Hey YA Fans!
Time to grab your TBR.
“What’s Up in YA?” is sponsored by The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton from Disney Publishing Worldwide.
In a world where Beauty is a commodity only a few control, one Belle will learn the dark secrets behind her powers, and rise up to change the world.
Let’s catch up with the latest in YA book talk over on Book Riot from the last few weeks. You’ll want to make sure you have your Goodreads, your wallet, and/or your to-read lists ready because surely, you’ll be wanting some of these books.
Oh, and if you love a good giveaway, you won’t want to miss the chance to enter for $500 of Penguin Clothbound classics over on Instagram.
- YA true crime fiction for fans of My Favorite Murder.
- 100 must-read short YA books (falling at about 250 pages or fewer!).
- Great books to read if you love Angie Thomas’s The Hate U Give.
- A round-up of your favorite YA science fiction reads.
- With Pantone calling 2018 the year of the color Ultraviolet, we wondered: how does that play out in this year’s YA book covers?
- Some upcoming (and recently released!) young adult graphic novels to know about.
- YA books about parallel worlds, especially for fans of Star Trek: Discovery.
- Mixed race YA fantasy heroines.
- And speaking of YA fantasy, a look at some of the most anticipated titles for this year.
- Latin American YA books, with even more suggestions in the comments.
- Two interviews with YA authors: first, Tanuja Desai Hidier on the 15th anniversary of Born Confused and second, Tanaz Bhathena on her book A Girl Like That.
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Quick Pick…
I blew through Winifred Conkling’s latest nonfiction YA title this week. Votes for Women! is, as the title suggests, a look at the suffrage movement in the US. But unlike some of the other YA accounts of this historical era, Conkling’s book does not shy away from highlighting the racist attitudes that some of the movement’s most prominent figures espoused in their pursuit of securing women’s rights to vote. Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Staton, and others were not able to see intersections of oppression like we talk about today, and Conkling is able to balance talking about the positive contributions they made during their time with those massive shortfalls.
This is an absorbing read for feminists, as well as readers who love learning about the history of women. I found it particularly fascinating how many other movements were happening at the same time as the suffrage movement — and certainly, it’s hard not to see those social movements as still relevant today. Tons of endnotes in this book, as well as many photos, add a lot. With Women’s History Month just around the corner, Conkling’s book would do well paired with so many of the excellent feminist YA novels we’ve seen populating shelves over the last few years. My only wish would be to have seen more of the women of color who were involved in the suffrage movement (& those working toward other movements at the time, including the abolitionists).
Available now!
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Cheap Reads…
Grab ’em while they’re at low prices.
Allegedly by Tiffany D. Jackson will keep you on the edge of your seat, and it comes in at $2.
Take a dive into the National Book Award winning Story of a Girl by Sara Zarr for $3 (then watch the adaptation on Lifetime).
Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta, the Printz-winning book by the legendary Australian YA author, is $2.
Love Robin McKinley and/or looking for a fantasy read? You can pick up the Newbery award winning The Blue Sword for $2.
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Thanks for hanging out this week, and we’ll see you again next.
–Kelly Jensen, @veronikellymars